How we Got Here: Timeline of the Present Crisis

What follows is the series of correspondence between the eight faculty members and the Board of Trustees, including their response to us.

Please note that by saying, “we could no longer work with or for Kurt Dunkle” and “if Dean Dunkle continued in his position we could no longer continue in ours” we did not offer our resignations. We were invoking a common labor practice at the advice of our attorney, making clear that we could not work under these conditions. Rather than offering a resignation, we were communicating to the Board Trustees that our working environment had deteriorated so much that the Seminary risked losing its faculty.

It is impossible to teach Christian theology and serve the formation of priests and lay leaders in a workplace with a retaliatory and hostile environment, where we and our students suffer from intimidation.

Letters and Correspondence - Index by Date

September 17, 2014Faculty send a Letter to the Board outlining serious concerns over the Hostile Enviornment at General Theological Seminary.

September 25, 2014Faculty again write to the Board, specifically requesting a face-to-face meeting at the next scheduled meeting of the Board of Trustees,
and begin a work stoppage to demonstrate the gravity of the situation at General Seminary.

September 30, 2014GTS issues a public statement "accepting the resignations" of the eight faculty members. The faculty had not, and have not, tendered their resignations from their positions.

September 30, 2014Statement in response to public comments by a Trustee, in which the Faculty detail attempts dating to October 2013 to resolve the escalating crisis.

October 17, 2014After weeks of outcry from inside and outside of the church, The Board of Trustees of GTS issues a second statement in response to the present crisis.

October 17, 2014
After weeks of outcry from inside and outside of the church, The Board of Trustees of GTS issues a second statement in response to the present crisis.

September 17, 2014

The Faculty send a letter to the Board outlining serious concerns over the Hostile Enviornment at General Theological Seminary.

September 24, 2014

Reply of the Chair of the Board of Trustees to the Faculty Letter of September 17, 2014.

September 25, 2014

Faculty again write to the Board, specifically requesting a face-to-face meeting at the next scheduled meeting of the Board of Trustees, and begin a work stoppage to demonstrate the gravity of the situation at General Seminary.

September 30, 2014

GTS issues a public statement "accepting the resignations" of the eight faculty members. The faculty had not, and have not, tendered their resignations from their positions.

September 30, 2014

In response to public comments by a Trustee, the Faculty offer further detail of their attempts dating to October 2013 to resolve the escalating crisis.

October 17, 2014

After weeks of outcry from inside and outside of the church, The Board of Trustees of GTS issues a second statement in response to the present crisis.